The highest of highs can often be followed quickly by some sobering lows in sport.
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Tamworth-based boxer, Lemuel Silisia, discovered the truth of that adage in shocking fashion at the Gunnedah Town Hall on Saturday night.
The Solomon Islander, whose nickname is 'The Destroyer', experienced both elation and gut-wrenching concern within a matter of seconds after his fight with Indonesia's Bima Prakosa.
After a back-and-forth first round, which Silisia looked to have won, the undefeated welterweight was more aggressive in the second and landed a big right hand that put his opponent out cold.
The Gunnedah fans roared, but then quickly fell quiet as they realised that Prakosa was not just unconscious, but potentially badly hurt.
"When I knocked him out, I felt sorry for him ... I was worried about him," Silisia told the Leader after the fight.
As soon as it became clear that Prakosa was possibly injured, his trainer came to his aid, as did Silisia's coach Jamie Carroll and the event doctor.
They rolled him into the recovery position and supported his head while a canvas stretcher was brought into the ring.
Thankfully, just as an official was in the process of calling an ambulance, Prakosa slowly woke up and flashed the crowd a thumbs-up to warm applause.
After lying unconscious for several minutes, the Indonesian stood and embraced Silisia, and even managed to walk out of the ring with minimal assistance.
During his in-ring interview, Silisia paid homage to his opponent and said "Everyone who gets in here is a warrior".
It was a sombre end to the biggest win of the 27-year-old's career.
But once it was clear that no lasting damage had been done, Silisia couldn't hide his pleasure with a third-straight knockout victory to remain undefeated.
"Coming into this fight, I felt different," he said.
"I felt like I was levels above. With the power I carry, I felt like I was going to knock this guy out."
Silisia was meant to fight earlier in the year, but was forced to pull out and return to the Solomon Islands due to a personal matter.
That might have been for the best, as he said seeing his family vastly improved his headspace.
"That really helped me with my mental part of the preparation," Silisia said.
"It really pushed me."
With this win, the One2Boxing team hopes for a quick turnaround, and Carroll confirmed that a potentially career-making opportunity is in the offing.
"Lems looks like he has a contract coming up to make a fight on Channel Seven, on the Ace Boxing series," the coach said.
"We're still waiting for that to be sent through ... but I've always said Lems could jump steps because he has that equaliser. He hits anyone like that, they're out."